VICISSITUDE

Warning, Story Key & Disclaimer are all located in chapter one, it is assumed you have read it and accept it.

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(After you read the chapter of course.)

Additional Note

Further information I wished to convey which I did not feel fit properly in the story is located at the end of this chapter after the credits.

Opening Note: This chapter may seem like a rehashing of material contained in the previous incarnation of "The WereKen", the story upon which this is based. There are changes that make this chapter its own entity that could be missed if not read to its conclusion.

!REQUEST FROM THE AUTHOR!

If you happen to find any incomplete or half-finished sentences, spelling errors or grammar corrections as you read, please feel free to send me a private message so that I can fix them. Thank you. I am human, I make mistakes.

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Chapter Five

Moving Forward –

"I've Never Had Much Control Over My Life."

"First Pops Taking Me Away."

"Then Choosin' My Future Bride."

"Multiple Times."

"Took Me Years Of Abuse Before I Realized Things Needed To Change."

"Figured The Best Place To Start Was With Myself."

"Fat Lot Of Good It Did Since I Had To Hide It As Things Just Got Worse."

"So Nothin' Changed."

"Took Almost Dyin' For Me To Finally Accept That I Had To Do Something Drastic."

"So, I Left."

-Ranma

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-#-#-#-#-#- Ace's C-130 (After Midnight, Japan) -#-#-#-#-#-

Somewhere over the North Pacific Ocean Ranma'd awoken to the sounds of rain pelting on the metal frame as well as the small squeaks of what he figured was a mouse somewhere further back among the cargo. He had a strange desire to go chase it for an instant before he became fully awake.

"Glad to see you're up!"

Not fully awake Ranma shifted to a sitting position focusing his eyes on the source of the voice wondering where he was and who was talking to him. When his eyes finished adjusting to the low lighting of the cabin he spotted Britanny, in human form, approaching him from further in the plane.

'She's not a mouse… could be fun catching her though. More fun if I caught her.' He thought groggily while unthinkingly giving Britanny a once over, liking what he saw of the girl who was now wearing a loose fitting pair of khaki shorts and a shirt a few sizes too big.

'Wait… a mouse… more fun if I caught her? What am I thinking!' He thought afterwards shooting to full awareness recalling quickly who Britanny was and where he was.

'I know what I'm thinking, and she sure is cute enough but I gotta remember calling a girl cute is what got me into trouble with Ukyo!'

Turning his head away yawning Ranma surreptitiously observed Britanny's approach out of the corner of his eye, trying to ignore the images playing through his mind of how she'd look doing so naked, in either form.

'Ok, Cheetah's a lot more than cute, she's downright cute like this and she's pretty enough in her hybrid form. Heck, who am I kiddin' Daisuke and Hiroshi would call her a babe and they'd be right.'

Blushing at his self-admission, Ranma shook his head slightly re-aggravating the headache he hadn't been able to shake since the first time he woke up much to his annoyance. He raised a hand to the bridge of his nose pinching it while closing his eyes tightly.

Noting his action Britanny voiced her concern. "Headache? I could go see if Ace has any aspirin or something."

"Nah, I'm sure it'll go away." Ranma said looking up to notice she was carrying something in her hands. "What'cha holdin'?"

"Peanuts.", Britanny held up a few bags of airline peanuts, "I found them, that and two cans of soda. There're warm though.", her distaste for said fact evident on her face.

Ranma smiled at her as he sat up, his stomach immediately grumbling loudly at the prospect of food as he hadn't had anything to eat since lunch. "I guess I am kinda hungry. But hand me the sodas first, ok?"

Thinking he only meant his Britanny handed him one of the cans and went to open hers only to have him interrupt her.

"Yours too."

With a shrug she surrendered hers eying him as his face took on a look of concentration.

The sudden chill that filled the cabin caused her to shiver and wish she were in her hybrid form, or at least more heavily dressed and her jaw went slack when she caught sight of the small window behind Ranma's head slowly fogging over before being coated in a thin layer of frost.

"Rrranma?" Britanny asked through clattering teeth.

As suddenly as the temperature dropped it returned to normal, a smile replacing the look of concentration on Ranma's face as he handed one of the cans back towards her.

She took it from him reflexively.

"Hope it's not too cold." Ranma asked as he plucked one of the bags of nuts from her arms and opened it, this thoughts casting back to how he'd come up with this alternate use for the Body of Ice, the second step in creating the Hiryü Shöten Ha.

The motivation for doing so had been a week during which the air conditioning went out at Furinkan. The principal had been too cheap to have it repaired yelling things like, "If you kiki's wanna be cool'a, you should be havin' the short'a hair!".

Consequently, it'd been his best week of learning for nothing was able to distract him while he held himself in that state of emotional detachment, as back then he had to enter the Soul of Ice first. It helped that those who sat around him didn't want to break his concentration either as they benefited as much as he did from the chill created by his aura, not even his fiancée's did anything to upset him as they welcomed the comfort he brought to the class. By the end of the week, he not only no longer needed to enter the Soul of Ice but also had managed to extend his cold aura enough that the classrooms around his were benefiting from his success.

After that, he started toying with summoning up his aura to do the opposite - that had taken less than two days to get. He now didn't need an oven or a stove to heat up his food. He used that technique when he was at lunch, sitting next to the principal's office – this too had an added benefit as his fiancée's didn't want to be anywhere near him for any great length of time. Needless to say, the chief coconut had the air-conditioning fixed by the end of the second week of Ranma's experimentation.

Mind returning to the moment Ranma uttered "Last time I tried that I kinda turned it inta slush. I think it's the metal of the can that's messin' me up." looking up to see Britanny staring at him with a stunned expression her face.

More importantly, he noticed how she seemed to be shivering slightly.

"Sorry about that." Getting to his feet he draped a Furinkan school jacket around her shoulders, taking a moment to sneak another bag of peanuts.

Britanny gazed from the nearly frozen soda can in her hand to Ranma, then down at the jacket resting around her shoulders – a jacket she knew Ranma didn't have a second ago – and then back to Ranma, her mind trying to catch up with what she'd just witnessed.

"What? How? The window, frost… soda cold… jacket?"

"So, how long we been in the air?" Ranma asked trying to derail her questions in the interest of relieving her of a few of her packets of goodness. "Can I have a few of those peanuts?"

Setting the peanuts between them, in two equal piles, Britanny plopped on the bench beside him.

"We've been in the air about an hour or so, which is about how long you've been asleep. We're going through a bit of a rain storm at the moment but Ace said it's nothing ta worry about."

Nodding Ranma plucked up one of the packages of nuts.

"So, the sodas? How did you do that? Was it, you know…" Britanny wave a hand over her can much like a magician might over a hat before pulling out a rabbit. "…magic?"

"Nah, I don't know any magic. Don't really like the stuff."

'There goes dad liking him.' Britanny thought with a grimace. 'There's always mom.'

"So how did you do it?"

"A martial arts technique I learned." Ranma popped a few more nuts into his mouth. "Not really meant to be used for chillin' soda's though." He chuckled at the thought of seeing Cologne's reaction to him debasing one of her tribe's techniques in such a manner. "Bet the old ghoul'd hit me on the head with her cane if she knew."

Britanny's stare doubled in intensity.

"I could tell you didn't like warm soda." Ranma said mistaking her stare for asking why he'd done it. "And since I don't either, I made them cold."

Seeing her continue to gawk, mouth slightly agape, he grew nervous thinking perhaps he hadn't said the what he'd meant to say he switched back to Japanese, "Did I say something incorrectly?"

Britanny, however, didn't reply, she sat there trying to process everything Ranma had just told her as well as what she'd witness him doing against the things she'd experienced so far in her life.

'He froze our sodas without using magic? He did it with a martial arts technique learned from a ghoul. Said ghoul would hit him on the head with a cane instead of trying to feed on his innards?'

Realizing the most important thing about what Ranma had just said Britanny's eyes went all sparkly, an emotional warmth spreading throughout her body.

'He noticed I didn't like warm soda? YAY! He's paying attention to me! That means he's at least interested right? And did he just eat those nuts as fast as I could in hybrid form?!

Ranma was both happy and unnerved by the slightly licentious smirk Britanny's thoughts elicited, but he was pleased to see her aura shift to a color he knew to be happiness. His experience with them was not yet good enough to allow him to tell much more than the basics of how a person felt as many of the emotions he saw were unfamiliar to him still. Depression, anger, happiness, disappointment, envy, jealousy, greediness, lust, calmness; these were emotions he knew for the people in his life shown with these on a constant basis. Furthermore, since his change, his vision seemed to be shifting around; one moment allowing him to see auras without concentration, something he'd been working at but had yet to succeed in doing, the next making it so he could see in the dark without trying.

These changes were just another mystery he knew he'd need to figure out once he got the time, the same as the oddity of his fluctuating ki. For now, he pondered these things while waiting for Britanny to answer his question, which she did once she came out of her Ranma-induced happy state.

"Um… what? Oh, nope, you're English was fine." She responded in Japanese before switching back to English. "That is if you just told me you learned a martial arts technique from an old ghoul?"

"Good."

"A real ghoul?"

"Huh?"

"You know, corpse digging, bone gnawing ghoul. That kinda thing?"

"Um… yuck… and no. Old ghoul is what I call Cologne, a three hundred year old dried up Amazon mummy from China." Looking over his body Ranma growled slightly, 'I bet they had something to do with why I'm like this.'

"She taught me the technique to help me defeat my pop's master. It's a long story I'd rather not talk about." Ranma trailed off hoping she would let the subject go. 'Not like I want her to know I'm being chased by some over amorous Amazon who wants me as a trophy husband or breeding stud.'

"An Amazon Mummy Cologne? You may be speaking English but you don't make sense."

Sighing at her confusion Ranma did his best to clear it up giving her a physical description of Cologne's physical appearance being why he called her old ghoul, or mummy.

Relieved to hear that what she thought was a reference to an actual ghoul or a real mummy was just a derogatory term for some teacher he'd once had, Britanny continued to question Ranma about the Amazons managing to coax him into telling her an edited version of how he met the Amazons. How a misunderstanding of their laws had led to Shampoo following him and his father to Japan where eventually her great grandmother joined showed up.

Britanny knew he'd left something out of his but she let it go instinctually sensing Ranma was a secretive person and that she should go slow so as not to push him away.

"We travelled around a lot, pops and I, but the only language he ever forced me to learn besides Japanese was English." Ranma thought aloud. "Would've been better if the damn panda taught me Chinese. If he had, we could'a avoided that whole mess."

"Well, if you want, we can practice your English now. I mean we got the whole flight and we can use it as a way to get to know each other better. For example, who taught you English in the first place?" Britanny wrinkled her briefly nose in annoyance, then smiled. "I learned Japanese 'cause my sister made me, said I'd need it. I'm kinda glad I did."

"I needed to understand some of the sensei's I trained under while pop's and me travelled across America when I was younger. Used to really bad at readin' it but I've gotten better over the last few months. Probably gonna need to get even better since I'm stayin' in America for a while."

"Well, I wouldn't mind helping you. In fact I'd loooove to help you in Any Way I Can." Britanny stressed the last four words, her voice turning soft and sultry as she walked a few fingers down his leg. "After all… practice makes perfect…"

"I…I'd love to um… practice… my English!" Ranma answered her, his voice cracking slightly with nervousness at Britanny's forwardness, for as much as he liked what she was doing, he worried someone would showed up to bash him despite being in plane flying high in the sky.

"Good. So its settled, I'm all yours for the duration of this trip…" Britanny looked down at her hands, which were now in her lap, blushing. "I mean I'd be glad to help you so as to make this trip as enjoyable as it can…"

Seeing him blush so red it was visible through his black fur Britanny was torn between the urge to giggle and face-palm.

'Way to go Cheetah, what happened to going slow? Sure it's fun to tease the guy but you're practically throwing yourself at him! I know, I'll let him do the talking. Just have to get him started with a question! Yeah that will work!'

Firm that she had a perfect plan to keep things moving between them She blurted out the first question she could think of "So, was I your first?" only to actually face-palm at the stupidity of her question.

Quickly recovering she amended her previous statement with "Werecat! Am I the first werecat you've ever met !?"

Beside her Ranma nodded as he continued to cough to clear his throat from the surprise swallowing of some nuts her question had brought upon him.

Patting him on the back Britanny watched him worriedly, "You ok?"

"Yea –cough– I'll be fine in a sec. –cough–" Finally getting it under control, he answered her question. "Um, no, I've never met anyone who could change forms like you can Cheetah, not and have a all mixed up form that's part animal and part human."

"Hybrid."

"Hybrid?"

"That's what it's called. You see this," Britanny waved a hand over her body making sure to pause at strategic points, enjoying seeing Ranma's embarrassment as he followed her action with his eyes. "is my human form."

"The one you saw me in when you woke up is called our hybrid form. Werecreatures also have a third form, one in which we take on an animal form. In my care, I turn into a cheetah."

Ranma nodded, "So, if I am a werecreature, I should be able to turn into an cat too?"

Britanny opened a second bag of her peanuts and started to munch on them, "Yup."

"I wonder what kinda I am?"

"Don't know, Gina'll probably be able to figure that out for you."

Having brought up her sister Ranma queried her about her family and what her home was like, questions Britanny happily answered. Though she did so without bringing up Stryyp much as Ranma avoided telling her anything about his having fiancée's.

As they talked about her family Ranma asked many questions about her sisters, such as what they looked like, what their hobbies were, if they lived with her, as well as other mundane things. Throughout her answers, Britanny subtly tried to warn him as to their libidinous ways but she had the feeling he just wasn't getting it so by the end she figured it was best to just keep an eye on him until he felt safe enough around them.

When it came time for her to ask questions, she queried him about his parents to find him quite willing to talk about how lousy his father seemed to be but when it came to his mother she was surprised when the conversation came to a very uncomfortable standstill. The only answer he would give was that he didn't really know her.

Seeing how his lack of knowledge about his mother was a painful topic she switched to something else, learning things such as his favorite food and colors. When she tried to turn the conversation to anything that might give her more personal details, she became frustrated as he'd either ask her counter questions to divert her or more frustratingly clam up.

While they talked Britanny noticed how at times Ranma seemed to act like a giant cat, purring a bit when she'd stroke the fur on his arm only to stop when he realized both what she was doing and what he was. She also enjoyed the time he nuzzled into her hand once when she brought it near his face to clear away bit of salt that had gotten there after he finished a bag of nuts by tilting it back to get the last bits from the container.

Throughout she was in fact surprised how often she had to stop herself from touching an arm or leg in a gesture of understanding or in a slightly flirtatious way but it confirmed belief that her was definitely a shy person when it came to such things, a fact she found adorable. His actions also affirmed her belief that she'd been the first girl to have him in a carnal way and she couldn't help feel pleased.

As they continued to talk, Britanny doing her best to keep the conversation centered on him, she increasingly found herself having a hard time not glomping onto him as instincts and desires long been dormant clamored for her to enjoy cuddling with him.

"So how good a martial artist are you?" Britanny asked.

"I'm the best." Ranma's automatic response kicked in.

"The best eh?"

Ranma nodded instantly.

"Maybe you 'n I should have a little go once we get to Atlanta?" A playful and yet challenging look playing across Britanny's face, her eyebrows waggling, clearly enjoying the idea of getting all personal and sweaty with him. "You know… a little hands on grappling or something. That is if you're not up for something a bit more… full contact."

Missing her innuendo entirely Ranma almost responded with his automatic, "I don't fight girls.", but stopped as something Kasumi'd been trying to hammer into him came to mind.

*Flashback*

"Tell me, how would you feel if your challengers didn't take you seriously when you are a girl?"

"I ain't no…" He rethought his words at seeing Kasumi's disapproving frown, "Er… I'm not a girl Kasumi. I'm a guy."

In response Kasumi poured some cold water across his arm activating his curse turning him female.

"But you are when you're splashed with cold water, you are, in fact, female, right?"

"The curse don't make me a girl!"

"While I agree there is little about you that one could call feminine Ranma, I'm not talking about your mind but rather your body." She began using the towel she had in her lap to dry off Ranma's arm. "When you first fought Kuonji-san you saw her as a boy so you treated her accordingly. The same can be said about you when you turn into a girl."

When Ranma didn't disagree with what she said Kasumi went on.

"I ask you, as you are now, are you weak?"

"Um… well… I'm weaker than my guy side."

"Could you beat Ryoga like this?"

"Pffft, easily. Pork-butt's too slow to beat me."

"Now Ranma, be nice."

"Sorry Kasumi."

Smiling in forgiveness Kasumi asked, "Is Ryoga strong?" pouring some warm water over her arm turning Ranma male.

"Heck yeah, er… yes he is. Only person I know who's stronger is Taro."

"I'm not just talking physical strength Ranma, I'm also talking skill." Finished drying his arm she folded the towel and set it upon the table they sat at. "Do you consider Elder Cologne weak?"

"The old ghoul? Nah, she's not weak. Where'ya going with… er. What are you trying to say Kasumi?"

"If girls can be strong, why do you refuse to treat female fighters with the proper respect they deserve?"

"Hey I take Kodachi seriously! She's too loony not to!"

"Young Miss Kuno's mental state outstanding, I want you to tell me why fail to treat all female challengers equally?"

"Huh? I can't think of any girl I treat… Wait a minute, is this because of the tomboy?!"

She gave him a look that shut him up; a single raised eyebrow working better than a thousand of Akane's bashings. "It's not just Akane I am referring to Ranma."

"Then who?"

"I've watched your fights for a long time Ranma-kun, and I've noticed that anytime you face a female challenger, when not female yourself, you hold back. Even when female you hold back more than you would against a male challenger."

"Well I…"

"You do know that by doing this you're dishonoring their skills simply because of their physical gender."

Having no reply to her words Ranma sat peering into his lap trying to decipher the meaning what she was saying.

"I'm not suggesting you go all out against an opponent, be they a girl or a guy, I'm just trying to say that sometimes it's best to not hold back as much." Her expression scrunched up in very cute way. "No, that's not what I meant."

Kasumi made a –Hhhmmm– noise as she put a dainty finger to her chin. Ranma couldn't help notice how this made her look even cuter.

"Ranma you want to be the best martial artist there is and our fathers want you to take over the dojo to teach correct?"

Before he could start crowing about already being the best or yell about not marrying Akane Kasumi clarified how she wish him to reply.

"Ah ah. Yes or no."

Closing his mouth Ranma took time to formulate his response; something Kasumi was proud he'd started to do – it was the first thing she tried to get him to do when she took it upon herself to coach him on how properly to react to others. It had taken a week of her limiting what he would receive as his portion during meals as a punishment for him to apply it where she was concerned. Of course, the fact Akane offered to cook him extra for his school lunch since he always seemed to be hungrier provided immense motivation.

Eventually Ranma gave his response. "Yes"

Kasumi smiled at his expected answer. "Now, as a teacher, you'll have to sometimes assess your students correct? This would mean the occasional spar correct? Again, yes or no only Ranma."

His response was quicker this time, for he knew of some sensei who would assess someone's skill by watching them spar with another student. He also knew he was far above the norm as he could tell just by watching someone fight for a few minutes; these days he could duplicate almost any technique he saw after just seeing it once. In fact, Cologne had done just that by testing him when she first arrived to see if he was indeed worthy of Shampoo.

"Yes." He answered softly.

"Tell me, do you expect to only teach men?"

"Was it your intention to have Akane train any female students you might have?" Kasumi hated having to add that last part knowing her sister lacked the patience to be a real teacher or a serious student of the art for that matter.

"As their sensei it should be your goal to see each of your students, male or female, reach their full potential. You will fail in this if your students see you holding back as you do for they are likely to follow your lead which might someday end up allowing someone to come to harm because they didn't do what needed to be done as quickly as they should have."

"Understand Ranma, I'm not suggesting you go all out at the beginning of a fight, but you need to learn when it is necessary to hold back and when it is not."

Kasumi made sure to capture his eyes with hers, "If your mother were in danger, would you allow one of your playmates, male or female, to slow you down in getting to her?"

Ranma sat shocked for a few moments before he excusing himself to go think their conversation over in private knowing if he were to teach, he would have to do exactly what she said he would. He would actually have to spar with any student in order to access their skills, female or otherwise. He also knew she was right about what she'd said about his mother which made him think about how he should be treating those he would protect someone from an aggressor, male or female.

After some deep thought, Ranma realized he'd been using a double standard in many cases such as willingly fighting Kodachi and Shampoo, Pink and Link, even Kiima while refusing to give Ukyo or Akane proper respect for their abilities as fighters.

Hours later, coming to the realization the way he treated Ukyo and Akane stemmed from his feelings for them, it was still no excuse to disregard their skills as a martial artist. He knew he'd have to adjust his feelings concerning them or any female he faced in either a real fight or a spar by treating them with the respect they deserved.

As to his holding back against his opponents, Ranma knew he had to adjust his strategy on testing new foes taking into account against how much jeopardy they placed those around them in for someone who was weak to him could still be strong enough to hurt others.

*End Of Flashback*

"Sure Cheetah. I'll spar with you." He answered loving the way Britanny's face lit up.

"But it'll have to wait 'til I figure out what to do about this." Ranma then waved an arm over his body. "Or at least get some practice with this form to find out what kind of changes it has made."

Seeing her lips starting to turn downward, Ranma added more to his statement. "I don't want to accidentally hurt anyone 'cause I don't know how to move properly.", he pulled his tail around to play a bit with the tip. "And I've no idea what this thing has done to my balance."

"I don't know… you sure seemed to know how to move earlier…" Britanny purred out while running her fingers through the fur on his chest.

"Tha… that's ok Cheetah."

Fighting the desire to purr her fingers were eliciting he said "Um you're sure there aren't any shirts or anything on the plane I could fit into?"

"Nope, sorry." She said, the smile on her face and the happy lilt to her voice clearly indicating just the opposite. "Nothing of Aces would fit you. I do have a spare one of my spandex outfits on board if you wanted to try one."

"N… no… no thanks." He stopped to eat a few peanuts he had in his hand, his mind suddenly occupied with how his recent changes might have affected his cursed form. When he came back to himself he realized that he was leaning into Britanny's caresses and purring.

"I don't suppose you could stop doin' that?"

"Sorry it's just that your fur is so soft, I can't help myself." Britanny said taking her hands off him with the intent to eat a few more of her nuts only to find the bag she'd been working on empty. Shrugging she opened another one.

"You know." –munch– "We should probably work on getting you over your fear of cats as I can't fight very well in this form. I want when we spar to show you my best." –munch– "I can't see us getting much sparring done if you're running away shrieking."

"I didn't shriek!" Ranma growled out tossing a few nuts into his mouth.

"I definitely recall a shriek." She teased.

Reaching to get more nuts from the bag, she found it curiously empty. 'I know I just opened this bag, how come it's empty already?'

That's when she noticed Ranma was chewing on something.

'Didn't he already finish his share of the nuts?' She asked of herself watching him munch on a handful. The only explanation she could come up with was that he must've replaced one of her full bags with an empty one.

'That sneak!'

Face set in a false smile, she sing-songed, "Ranma, did you just eat my last bag of peanuts?"

Swallowing the last of the nuts he had in his hands the black and red werecat caught the end of his nervously twitching tail stilling it.

"Um…"

Eyes firmly affixed to his she continued to speak in her singsong tone; one her sisters knew to be a indication Britanny was displeased. "Have you been switching my full bags for empty ones Ranma sweetie?"

All kinds of warning bells were going off for Ranma at this time. 'I am so going to get pounded for this I just know it.' "Um… No." It wasn't a lie as he'd been eating the nuts right out of her bag. "There're more right?"

He began to look around for a way to move away from Britanny cursing that he'd allowed her to seat him so that he was boxed in between the end of the bench and a wall of nylon web-gear that hung from the ceiling to the floor.

Gulping he thought, 'Kami I hope she doesn't pound me through the planes floor.'

"So, you have have nooooo idea as to how my freshly opened bag of nuts, which should be full, is instead, empty?"

"Um… it never had any nuts in it?"

Knowing she wasn't buying it from the 'tell me another one' glare she was giving him, Ranma caved in and admitted his duplicity. "Yeah I ate 'em. I'm sorry Britanny; I was so hungry I couldn't help myself."

Britanny sighed "Next time ask ok?" and then brought her face right up to his, her eyes near blazing as she poking him hard in the chest. "But if you ever… ever… eat my tuna without asking, you will suffer."

She gave him an extra hard jab. "Got that mister?"

Ranma's head couldn't nod fast enough, now knowing that getting between Britanny and tuna would be as bad as coming between Nabiki and her Oreo cookies.

"Good!" Britanny, who was now all smiles, chirped before grabbing a surprised Ranma by the sides of his head to pull his forward so she could deliver a passionate kiss to his lips after which she got up and walked away with a swing to her hips pleased in knowing his eyes were on her the whole way. 'I may not have the curves of my hybrid form when I'm like this but that don't mean I don't know how to strut what I got!'

Once he could no longer see her Ranma snapped his jaw shut, shook his head in disbelief, and then leaned back against the wall behind him to yawn. 'Women, I'll never understand them. One moment she's threatening me, the next she's kissing me.'

Eying the direction the spotted haired girl had gone he smiled thoughtfully. 'I wouldn't mind it if she did that again when she gets back… but really I hope she comes back more food.'

-#-#-#-#-#- Nerima, Japan — Ucchan's Okonomiyaki (After Midnight) -#-#-#-#-#-

Konatsu had a long day; he could feel it in his muscles. He'd run with the cart all the way to Niiza and back to get the ingredients Ukyo-sama needed for the restaurant. Now that wouldn't normally be enough to tire the Kunoichi prodigy, but add what he'd done after he returned from the errand and you had one tired male Kunoichi.

He'd arrived back from Niiza slightly late in the afternoon to find a giant hole in the second story, giving one easy entrance to Ukyo's bedchambers. Quickly checking Ucchan's over, he found that this was the only damage to the building, but no Ukyo. From the way the kitchen was arrayed he could tell she had returned home from school, as the restaurant was ready to be opened. Something had obviously happened after her preparations that lead to her departure.

After quickly putting away the supplies he'd purchased, Konatsu decided to wait for a bit in hopes that his mistress would return. He could see the regular customers passing by, several grumbling about the place not being open but there was nothing he could do about it. He made an excellent waitress, but no one could cook Okonomiyaki like Ukyo could. He certainly wouldn't dare try, especially after the last time when she got angry because he sold them for too little.

After an hour passed, Konatsu decided to take matters into his own hand and do a quick reconnoiter for the missing chef. A quick stop at the Tendo dojo showed all was quiet, too quiet. Finding it so was both disturbing and gratifying. If there was something going on with Ranma he'd expect a great deal more activity within the household, but the place being dead just didn't sit well with him either. He considered seeing if Nabiki could provide him with answers but a quick glance inside showed that the girl wasn't at home.

Doing a quick survey of other possible locations yielded no answers as to where Ukyo might be. He did notice signs of battle throughout the area giving indication that something significant had happened. They seemed rather extensive for a normal Nerima battle but were already well on their way to being repaired by the N.M.A.C.A. (Nerima Martial Arts Construction Authority). Normally he or Ukyo would take care of the damages to the restaurant themselves, (Fortunately there had been very few.) but Konatsu felt that this was a special circumstance. It was, after all, her bedroom.

After taking a moment to talk to the nice construction workers, many of which were regulars at Ucchan's, letting them know that her wall needed to be rebuilt, Konatsu decided to expand his search outwards. He was in fact beginning to worry, as it was getting dark.

Stopping back at the shop to start his search from there, in case Ukyo had returned, he took the time to make a call to the Tendo household. Soun Tendo had answered and immediately asked if Konatsu knew where Ranma was. After the two agreed to contact each other should either of the missing individuals be found Konatsu set off across the rooftops searching the ward as swiftly as he could, working through the neighborhood in a grid like pattern.

Several hours later, on his way back to check to see if Ukyo had returned to the restaurant, he noted something on the rooftop of a building not far from the Tendo Dojo. Not wishing to be seen by those he intended to observe should they be on alert for anyone approaching them, he pulled out a mini-telescope thankful that there was enough moonlight to allow him to properly make out the figures once he'd aligned the scope in their direction.

Peering through the scope Konatsu did a double take as he doubted what he was seeing. Wanting to be sure he decided that this Nerima strangeness called for special measure, thus did he extract the night camera he'd saved up for so he could be sure of what his eyes were telling him.

Immediately he had to stifle a giddy exclamation of joy at the confirmation that he had indeed seen what he thought he'd seen through the telescope.

A real live cat-man!

Konatsu could tell that he was looking at the real thing and not some man in a costume from the way the girl the catman had cradled in his arms was running her fingers through his fur as well as how the wind caused it to shift in subtle patterns. Another tell was the delightful way the males ears twitched occasionally cinched it for the male Kunoichi and thought not normally the voyeuristic type, Konatsu just couldn't pull himself away from watching them. The reason for this is something that the Kunoichi kept hidden from the rest of his fellow Nerimites, this being that he was a furry fan. He even had hidden place that even Ukyo didn't know about, a small chamber he'd found in the corner of the upper floor that he'd claimed it as his private sanctum, a sanctum that was covered floor to ceiling with posters and books of furry's, mostly cat-people or kitsune. Situated as the centerpiece of this hidden shrine to furry cosplay, was a small table upon which a drawing book with several colored pencils lay, the open page of the book showed an image of what Ukyo might look as a skunk girl.

Thus, his passion for cosplay came into conflict with his desire to continue his search for Ukyo, his mind warring over remaining where he was to continue to record these two with his duty to his mistress. And recording them he was, the camera he held in his hands was one of the few things that Ukyo had actually helped him pay for as he mainly used it on her behalf. It was practically his prized possession for he even owned nearly every attachment that could be used on the thing which in turn allowed him to take excellent quality images day or night.

When the cat-man stepped up to the edge of the roof, his body perfectly framed by the moonlight Konatsu had to stifle a girlish squeal from how romantic the two looked. It was in that moment he made his choice to follow them for this was a once in a lifetime opportunity. When the two took off Konatsu leapt after them recording as much of their journey across the rooftops as he could while doing his best to keep up.

He thought for sure the two had spotted him several times, forcing him to duck out of sight but luck was with him as he was able to remain unseen by them all the way to their destination, the Tokyo International Airport. Noting the fact that they were on a private runway, Konatsu realized that whoever these people were they must be either well connected or very wealthy.

When the tall black-furred catman keeled over his eyes nearly tripled in size at seeing the female shift forms, becoming a larger black spotted and yellow furred catwoman. Letting out a squeal of join Konatus didn't even try to conceal his pretense choosing instead to snap picture after picture of the two until they'd vanished up the cargo ramp of the plane.

Deciding to be thorough Konatsu took a few pictures the plane they'd boarded before setting off back for home, a sense of guilt now falling upon him for indulging in a personal pursuit when he should have been seeking for Ukyo. Said guilt was assuaged upon reaching the restaurant to find the wall fixed and Ukyo's shoes in the cubby at the bottom of the stairs.

Just to be sure, he took a quick peek in her room, a sense of relief washing over him at finding a sleeping Ukyo in bed sleeping with her giant spatula held tightly to her like a teddy bear.

Duty done, it didn't take the Kunoichi long to make his way up into his hidden spot where he used a high quality printer to run off a few copies of the better images he'd taken, the largest of which he tacked up to his wall.

This done he sat back and smiled. It had been a long tiring day, but it had all been worth it.

-#-#-#-#-#- Nerima, Japan — Neko Hanten (After Midnight) -#-#-#-#-#-

It was well after midnight by the time Cologne exited the basement, after the day's events the aged matriarch felt herself stretched, wishing nothing more than to be able to rest. Sadly, she knew her day was not yet over for she still had to have a talk with her great granddaughter, who was no doubt waiting for her to return exactly as she had instructed.

As expected, Cologne found the young teen slowly going through an Amazon Wushu kata with a jain (1) in the center of the dining room.

She watched with pride her descendant flowed over or around the tables and chairs, avoiding them with both body and weapon by the slimmest of margins.

Though the girl continued her kata until it came to its natural conclusion, Cologne knew Shampoo noticed her entrance. Once finished Shampoo turned towards Cologne and bowed. "Forgive this one for not ending her kata when Elder arrive."

"Nonsense child, it is good to see you taking a serious interest in your skills. Is Mousse still in his cage?", Cologne asked.

"No, Shampoo let stupid male out to eat. He in kitchen cleaning up mess he make when he hug bag of flour thinking it Shampoo."

"Go make a pot of Jie Tea. When it's finished you and Mousse will join me." Cologne said hopping over to one of the more comfortable booths where she slid in.

"Yes great grandmother.", The purple-haired Amazon bowed then hurried off to the kitchen where sounds of her and Mousse arguing were followed by a few banging noises which was no doubt Shampoo fending off more unwanted advances from her would be suitor.

A few minutes later, the pair entered the room to take seats opposite the waiting Elder.

Cologne shook her head slightly in amusement at the flour covered male while waiting for her great granddaughter to complete the proper ceremony for the pouring of her tea.

After taking her first sip, Cologne started the conversation. "What I have to say to you both concerns tribal business so we shall speak only Chinese until this is meeting is finished."

Both teenagers nodded their acceptance.

"^I have been in communication with the other Elders of the tribe, informing them of the recent changes in this husband hunt.^"

"^Changes? What changes?^", Mousse inquired loudly. "^what vile thing has Saotome done to my beloved Shampoo this time! I swear I'll…^"

His head hit the table with a loud –Hunk- when Cologne's stick struck him over the head. "^You will do nothing but be quiet!^"

"^Now, as I was saying.^" The elder eyed Mousse as he lifted his head, clearly daring him to interrupt her again so she could render him unconscious and not have to deal with his meddlesome presence. "Several things have changed due to your most recent interference with Xian Pu's husband hunt Mu Tsu.^"

"^You've no proof I've interfered old mummy.^" Mousse stated, instantly receiving another bash on the head.

"^Your insolence will not be tolerated Mu Tsu! You are already in enough trouble with the council for your recent actions!^"

"^If I am to be punished I wish to know for what crime, Elder.^" Mousse mumbled into the table where Cologne's cane held him.

Moving it away from him she allowed myopic teen to raise his head where she used her cane to flip his glasses from where they had fallen to back on his face.

"^Do you deny having switched amulets this morning Mu Tsu?^"

"^I don't know what you're talking about, Elder. I also stand on my rights as an Amazon for all of my past actions in preventing Xian Pu from making the biggest mistake of her life by accepting marriage to one unworthy of her love.^"

If Shampoos gaze had been able, the boy would've turned to ash on the spot.

"^So you repudiate your interference?^"

Mousse's crossed his arms over his chest but did not answer.

"^You may choose to be defiant for the moment Mu Tsu, but admit it or not, what you have done today has cost my Clan deeply and I promise you that yours shall pay dearly for your offense.^"

"^I should flay your skin from your body for what you have done Mu Tsu.^" Shampoo growled causing the boy to flinch.

"^Concern yourself not with his punishment Xian Pu, as it is not for you to dole out what is to come for him.^"

Turning back to Mousse Cologne scowled, "^In your refusal to accept that my Great Granddaughter shall never be yours you've far exceeded the boundaries of the protection offered to you by your families position on the council Mu Tsu.^"

"^What are you talking about?^" Mousse asked worriedly.

"^I'm talking about the artifact you switched the one intended for Ranma. It was sacred not only to my Clan, but to the tribe as a whole. For that you most assuredly will be punished.^"

"^Punishment? Why should I be punished? I did nothing wrong! I was well within my rights as an Amazon warrior to protect my Xian Pu from marrying a man who would only bring shame to our tribe. She should marry the man she loves, me!^"

Cologne's cane struck Mousse in the throat faster than the boy could blink leaving him gasping and choking. "^Xian Pu? Love you? You are blinder than I thought possible!^"

"^And after the embarrassment you have given my Clan this day you should consider yourself lucky I do not allow her show you exactly how much love she has for you Mu Tsu by allowing her skin you alive as she has asked me many times to allow! ^"

"^My Shampoo would never hurt me for…^" The sudden loud :-:THUNK:-: of a dagger slamming into the chair right between Mousse's legs courtesy of Shampoo brought his words to an end.

"^Stand down Shan Pu! As I have said, his punishment is not for you! Not unless the Council decides it to be so!^"

Shampoo slowly withdrew the dagger from between Mousse's legs making sure to slice a bit of his clothing high up on his crotch as she did. "^Yes Elder.^"

Cologne nodded to Shampoo, her attention then returning to the wide-eyed Mousse. "^This is your final warning Mu Tsu, if you speak out of turn again I will turn you into a duck and ship you back to your great grandmother, but only after I pluck out every single feather on your scrawny body!^"

Nervously sweating at his beloved's actions, Mousse sat up stiffly to settle for glaring at the elder before him wisely deciding to keep his mouth shut, a glare the elder Amazon easily ignored.

"^Now, as I was saying, things have changed for this husband hunt for with his new form comes new rules, ones I'm afraid you'll not like great granddaughter.^"

"^Excuse me elder.^" Mousse said with great respect and fear. "What do you mean by new form?^"

Cologne smirked evilly at the male opposite her, placing a small video-player on the table. "^That is right, you'd already lost to Shan Pu's groom early on in the fight.^"

"^Only because he cheated somehow!^"

"^I think perhaps you've been spending too much time around either the youngest Tendo, or the Kuno boy, if you believe such drivel. Now, remain silent and watch what your interference has wrought.^"

Not waiting for him to argue Cologne fiddled with the player until it showed the scene where Ranma transformed.

Shampoo was all goo-goo eyed at the strength and power Ranma displayed while Mousse goggled at what he was seeing.

"^As you can see, the boy has become one of the Ancient Races, a lycanthrope, and therefore has become far more valuable to the tribe.^"

The sound of Mousse grinding his teeth together was easily heard. "^Surely you don't expect my beloved to chase this… inhuman beast? Surely even you can see he's become some half-animal abomination making him unworthy of her love more now than ever.^"

"^Are you truly blind as well as stupid Mu Tsu!? My husband was strong and handsome before! He is even more so now!^" Shampoo declared looking down on her would-be-lover in more than one sense as she elbowed him out of his seat and to the floor. "^Were he to remain in that form forever I'd welcome him into my bed a million times before I'd sully myself with your touch!^"

"^But Shan Pu! He's an anim…^"

Cologne held up her hand before the two could continue their argument, her voice stern and commanding. "^Enough! You will cease your arguing and conduct yourselves as proper warriors of the tribe!^"

Seeing both of them looking properly chastised, Cologne waited until Mousse was seated once again before continuing.

"^While we of the Council have agree that the blood of the Ancient Races, which we believe now flows through Ranma's veins, should not be allowed to be wasted outside the tribe, there are laws concerning the courting of the Ancient races."

"^One Law, that is very clear, is that to attack one of the Elder Races, without proper challenge or reason, is outlawed.^" Cologne directed towards Mousse. "^So should you continue blindly assaulting Ranma without suitable provocation or challenge I can assure you banishment from the tribe would be the least of your worries.^"

"^But it is my right as an Amazon to fight for the hand of the woman I love! If Saotome is unable to defend himself, he is unworthy of being a member of the tribe! You have no right to expect me to obey as I am only following our laws!^"

Before he could speak further, Mousse found himself slammed into the booth seat from a strike from Colognes cane, something he was getting rather sick of experiencing. Thoughts of one day stuffing that cane down her throat flitted through his mind.

"^And the laws concerning the Elder Races supersede your Rights of Assault! I swear to you know Mu Tsu, continue to attack Ranma without proper challenge, one approved and overseen by an Elder, and I will do my best to see to it you are punished to the fullest extent of Joketsuzoku Law!^"

"^The dictates that the Ancient Races are immune to the Kisses of Death.^' Cologne answered. "^The Kissa of marriage is… another matter.^"

"^Will the Elder explain?^"

"Our earliest law makes no provisions for Kisses of Marriage based upon the race of the one it is given to, while later ones, which were enacted and repealed so many times over it is now impossible to tell where our law stands. One thing that is clear is that any Kissess of Marriage are only valid if the challenger knows the law before hand.^"

"^And Ranma did not know the law before hand.^" Shampoo stated. "^What of when he challenged me while I was wearing the Contrary Jewel?^"

"^Challenges given while under mental influences are invalid, you know this.^"

"^What it means Xian Pu, is you no longer have rights to Ranma as your defeat at his hands was never a clear marriage challenge.^"

Shampoo let out a pained cry.

"^All is not lost my child, for there is nothing stopping you from challenging him again, just as there is nothing stopping from your sister Amazons from issuing such a challenge.^"

"^I am afraid that because of Mu Tsu's interference this husband hunt has now become a race, a race to see which Amazon can seduce Ranma in order to have his bloodline joined with that of the Joketsuzoku!^"

"^I still deny any inference!^" Mousse declared to the Elder in front of him, or rather, since he was no longer wearing his glasses, to a tanuki statue against the wall opposite him. "^And though I pity any of the women of our tribe who'd seek to mate with Saotome, I'm sure my beloved Xian Pu would never willingly mix her blood with that of an animal so leave her out of this sick race to pollute our peoples blood!^"

The reward for his outburst was a melon hammer to the head, courtesy of the love of his life. "^So, what you are saying Elder, is I will have to compete with my sister Amazons for the hand of a male I should have sole rights to?^"

"^Correct. It is the Law.^"

"^I see. Is there more I need to know Elder?^"

"^There is.^" Cologne replied feeling a sense of pride at seeing her progeny handling herself with the proper decorum of a warrior of her station. "^It has been decided each Amazon who is sent will be allotted a time limit of three years after the Kiss of Marriage is given to gain his hand. Should none do so, Ranma will be considered off limits to the tribe unless he openly challenges one to be his wife.^"

"^Further, you should know that the top five warriors from a tournament to be held just for this mission shall be sent to seek his hand, though only three of you may give him the Kiss of Marriage. No Kiss shall be considered sealed until consummation.^"

"^This one asks if she will have to participate in the tournament Elder.^"

"^In light of his already having defeated you, and your time put into this hunt, the Council deemed it only proper you have a place as one sent to gain his hand. However, a onetime offer has also been granted for you to return home with no dishonor.^"

Shampoo nodded, her frown diminishing at learning she hadn't lost her chance to gain Ranma as her husband.

"^There is more. The Council has enacted the Law of Sharing where Ranma is concerned.^"

"^The Law of Sharing?^" Shampoo questioned.

"^Long ago, when the tribe came across a particularly strong male, one who's blood would strengthen the tribe beyond measure. It was decided that limiting the prospective chance of strong children to one wife was unwise where this warrior was concerned. Our own Clan is descended from the last such union.

Cologne paused to let her words sink in.

"The same Law has been resurrected where Ranma, whom several of the Council had already begun to lobby to enact before his recent elevation of status due to his exploits as well as his Jusenkyo curse, shall be allowed to be shared between two Amazon brides.^"

"Shampoo no wish to share!" Shampoo declared slipping back into Japanese.

"^IT IS NOT A MATTER OF WHAT YOU WISH WARRIOR! IT IS WHAT WE OF THE COUNCIL HAVE DECIDED!^" Cologne declared loudly, slamming the tip of her cane into the floor cracking several of the tiles.

"^Moreover, this is not to be considered a competition. We of the Council expect all those who seek his hand to work with each other until he consummates his marriage with at least two Amazons!^"

"^Having his potential wives squabbling with each other before they are even official will not endear him to any of you! You're time spent trying to woo him to date should've taught you this!^"

"^Furthermore, for the harmony of our tribe, We of the Council feel it is essential that those who become his wives not only capture his heart, but his willingness to be a member of our tribe!^"

The Elder's voice went from stern and commanding to consoling. "^I know this is asking a great deal of you Xian Pu, to possibly have to step aside if another should gain Ranma's heart but this is for the best of the tribe. If you feel you cannot or will not do as the Council wishes, cease your pursuit now.^"

'This is it!' Mousse, who throughout Cologne's announcement had kept silent, thought. 'This is when Xian Pu finally frees herself of the cad! This is the moment when she rushes into my arms and declares her love for me for there is no way she'll continue to chase him knowing she has to share!'

Seeing Shampoo start to stand Mousse stood up, opening his arms to receive his beloved Shampoo when she rushed to him to seek comfort. When she stepped away from him to move so there was no table between her and her aged relative Mousse could only blink in confusion.

"^Elder…^", Shampoo said as she lowered herself to the floor in a position of supplication, head bowed towards Cologne resting between the triangle her hands created on the floor. "^I humbly express my desire to continue my pursuit of one of the one known as Ranma Saotome. I pledge my word to abide by the Councils wishes to help my sisters gain his heart should he prove his worth in defeating them just as I will pursue him to see if he is worthy to defeat this warrior, and if he should, to bring his blood into our tribe.^"

Cologne smiled proudly at her great granddaughter before frowning at the sound of breaking floorboards. broken by Mousse's face-fault at hearing his love declare she would continue her pursuit of Ranma.

1) The jian is a double-edged straight sword used during the last 2,500 years in China.

-#-#-#-#-#- Ace's Plane — Somewhere Over The Pacific (After Midnight) -#-#-#-#-#-

By the time Britanny returned from trying to locate a few more bags of peanuts, she found Ranma fast asleep on the bench, his tail wrapped cutely around one of his legs.

'How can he just fall to sleep like that?' Britanny thought as she settled into the seat next to him. Reaching for the soda she'd left behind she was annoyed to find it empty.

"First you take my peanuts, and then you finishes off my drink? I should so give you a noogie." Though she'd was glowering at him Britanny couldn't keep her lips from smiling when Ranma's ears twitched slightly at the sound of her voice. "Well Mr., you'd better take my warning about my tuna seriously or there're gonna be some serious problems."

"Some vacation this turned out to be." Britanny grumbled opening the can of soda she found during her search for more food.

Sipping a bit more of the warm soda she let out a bleh, "I should wake you up so can have a cold soda."

"Better yet, I should get you to teach me how to do it…" Britanny said, pondering the uses to which she could put such a skill. Soon, her lips curing in a devious little smile, she let her thoughts turn to the many practical jokes she could play upon her sisters if she could do as she'd seen Ranma do.

Leaning her head back she reluctantly took another sip of her drink, only to cough a bit it when went down wrong when Ranma flopped over to land with his head in her lap. Once she had it under control she affixed her eyes on him in annoyance more than prepared to give him an earful for making her choke when she noticed he was still asleep.

After poking him a few times she was satisfied that he wasn't faking. "He sleeps as soundly as I do."

Not one to let a cute moment like this go to waste she indulged herself by running her fingers through his hair while soaking in his peaceful expression. When he started to purr due to her ministrations the small impish grin she'd been sporting grew into a full-fledged smile.

She would have been content to sit there getting lost in the moment, sadly the occasional creaking sound of the crates aboard the plane brought to mind the ones she failed to pick up.

'I can't believe what happened on what was supposed to be another boring errand for Gina.' Britanny snorted, 'I should've known though. Things are rarely easy where sis is concerned but what are the odds I'd get slapped in the face by a bag of super-cat-nip and end up having great sex with a werecat who I never met!?'

Sighing Britanny ran a hand through her hair. 'Even with that as an excuse, there's just no way I'm gonna be able to avoid having to put up with another one of Gina's lectures on responsibility once she finds out I didn't get the stuff she wanted.'

Looking down at what she was wearing Britanny pouted. 'Worse yet I lost all those outfits I shopped hours for!'

Her worry tapered off when Ranma started a strange one-sided conversation in his sleep. His mumblings was a combination of martial arts, food, and sex; several of which Britanny mentally noted for possible use should the opportunity arise.

After a while, he tapered off, so she went back to running her fingers through his hair to which she added the occasional tap to the tip of one of his ears just so she could watch it twitch cutely.

'So this is what it must be like to have a cat. 'Cept this one apparently has some very interesting dreams.'

Soon Britanny found herself wondering what life would be like with him around, of how introductions to her family would go.

'One thing is for sure I'm gonna have to ease you into meeting daddy with your dislike for magic but I'm pretty sure with you being a fighter that you'll get along well with mom.' She thought. 'Of course meeting daddy is a must as we're probably going to need his help to get you over your fear of cats. After all I can't have a boyfriend who'd run scared every time he saw me.'

'Maybe daddy can figure out how you became a werehunk, though I hope you'll accept what you've become instead of changing back 'cause I'd sure miss this handsome bod. But if you do I sure hope your human form is just as yummy!'

After several minutes of being lost in various pleasurable daydreams, Britanny started to ponder how her sisters might react to having such an attractive male around house.

She frowned a bit, envisioning what tests her bundle of hormonal imbalances of a sister might try upon the hunky male in her lap in order to figure out what kind of being he is. She didn't want to think what kind of tests Gina would no doubt want to perform if she found out he could do things like chill a soda without using magic.

No, Britanny knew she'd have to keep a good eye on her elder sister if only to avoid her monopolizing Ranma's time with test after test. Most of which she was sure her sister would try to perform with him wearing as little clothing as possible.

'And that's not even considering what Brianna might try!' Britanny thought, her expression switching from one of worry to one of regret, her mind casting back to the last time she and her younger sister had talked.

*Flashback*

Brianna flopped down onto the couch beside her sister who sat mindlessly watching repeats of Sponge Bob Square Pants. A sister with whom she shared many memories of the man she was hurting over for she'd been born with both of Gina's and Britanny's memories up to when they used the elder sister's lab equipment to remove a curse they'd gotten while exploring the tomb of Tyranthrax in the deserts of Iran.

When she'd first awoken, she tried to kill her sisters because of the imperatives of the curse. She would have tried again when she became Grave Digger during a trip to Jade she'd made in an effort to find a way to bring Raphiel back into being.

She'd long since come to terms with her fear of not knowing if she was a real person or just a living embodiment of the curse they sought to rid themselves of – she had come to realize she was more than just the memories of her two sisters shoved into one person. Despite this, she still couldn't help but feel pain at Stryyps abandonment of her sister… and her.

After many minutes of silence her eyes never straying from her practically unmoving sister, Brianna finally managed to get her up the nerve to talk, her opening statement going right to the heart of why she'd come to see her. "You have to face it Brit, Stryyp isn't coming back."

Britanny remained unresponsive.

"I wish he was Brit, I really do. But he's not. It's time you stopped…"

"I don't want to hear it Brianna.", Britanny growled out.

"Yeah well, you need to!" Brianna retorted with more heat than she meant to. "I'm worried about you. We're all worried about you."

"You've done nothing but sit around for the last month sis." Brianna reached out a hand, placing it on Britanny's shoulder.

Britanny didn't even turn her head as she forcibly removed Brianna's hand from her shoulder.

Hurt that her sister would just disregard her show of affection and offer of emotional support Brianna unwisely embraced her anger to keep her going. "Heck, you even blew Gina off when she pleaded with you to help with retrieving the Jade Horse from the tomb of T'Chang in China."

"She did fine on her own…", Britanny grumbled.

"But she shouldn't have had too!" Brianna responded hotly. "I hope you know Gina almost got seriously hurt in a few of those traps. Traps you would've easily been able to help her circumvent had you been there instead of here throwing yourself a one woman pity party!"

Had Brianna been able to read her sisters mind she would've known part of Britanny's current attitude was the fact she did feel bad her sister had almost gotten seriously injured for their mother, Julia, had in fact already chewed her out over the matter.

Unknowing of this her sisters mindset Brianna didn't let things go, she instead took a few deep calming breaths in preparation for continuing to try to help her sister see where she was wrong.

"Sis… I know it hurts, and I know it's easier said than done but you've gotta put Stryyp behind you before you let it cause more damage to this family that it already has. He left us. We've done everything we could to find him… you know this. We all do. But it's time to let him go Brit."

"Us? We?", Britanny quirked an eyebrow at her sister.

Unfortunately Brianna missed the angry undertones to her sister's words or she might've avoided the hurt that was to come.

–Sigh– "Do you think you're the only one that misses him?", Brianna's voice was filled with emotion as she stood up moving away continuing to speak her heart to her sister.

"You're not the only one who was hurt by his leaving; we were all close to him so you're not alone in your pain sis but you just can't seem to see it. You've got friends who want to help you. Friends you're hurting by holing up and closing yourself off."

Brianna kept her back to Britanny as she went on, she didn't want to distress her sister further by letting her see the tears at the edge of her eyes. It was because of this she missed Britanny's countenance darken considerably in response to her words, though she did hear her sister shut off the television.

"Do you think you're the only one that was upset when he left Brit? He hurt all of us by disappearing without leaving a clue as to where he went. You didn't see Gina crying when she found out all the messages you'd sent ended up in some trash dump, or the way Genn and Seance reacted to your pain. I bet you haven't even noticed how those two haven't been around. It's because those two can actually feel your pain as if it were their own. In a way we all do."

She could hear Britanny moving behind her, possibly getting up from the couch.

"Despite everything we've done to try to cheer you up it seems like you just turn away from all of us. Why won't you let us help you sis? We want to help you but you just won't let us in."

Sadly, Britanny didn't hear Brianna offering her help in getting past the loss of her love, instead throughout Brianna's speech all she heard was her sisters use of 'us' and how 'Brianna' supposedly understood the pain that she was in. As she continued to talk Brianna failed to notice she was making herself a target for Britanny's growing anger and self-loathing.

"It hurt Cheetah. It hurt all of us a lot when he left, you the most. But you're hurting us by closing yourself off.", Brianna turned around when she heard a growling sound to find Britanny standing a few feet behind her fists shaking at her side.

"What would you know?", Growled out a snarling Britanny as she advanced towards Brianna. "You talk about us missing him… us being unhappy, as if you were a part of our relationship… as if you were as intimately involved with my Stryyp as I was."

Brianna stepped backwards away from the obviously angry werecheetah, her eyes widening at the vehemence in her sister's voice. "That's not how I meant it Britanny… I was trying to say you're not the only one who was hurt when he left… I cared about him too you know. Why can't you see you have people who love you, people who want to help you. Please Brit, stop shutting us…"

Britanny had crossed the distance to her sister in a flash and was poking her in the chest with a finger. "You're not the one he left I am. I'm the one he asked to marry him not you!" Britanny's eyes flashed dangerously as she continued to angrily poke her sister in the chest. "I'm the one he slept with not you! I'm the one he tossed aside not you! And you come to me and say that you understand?! That you can relate to how it feels to know the man I loved used me and turned his back on me?! That you understand what he and I went through in our relationship?!"

Britanny laughed darkly as she continued to force her sister to back up until Brianna's back hit the wall.

"How would you know what a real relationship is Brianna? You just use others to appease those urges of yours. I used to think Gina was the one who had problems controlling her boy-hungry ways, but you're way worse than Gina is."

"So long as the guy is cute and you can drag him back to your bed that's just fine to you. At least Gina knows to keep her hands off other peoples men." Tears flowed down Britanny's face as she lashed out not caring she was hurting her sister.

"You just can't stand that I had him and you didn't. Now you're trying to comfort me? To try to find closure for the pain… whose pain? Mine or yours?"

Britanny growled out her words. "You say you want to help me, don't you mean help yourself Brianna? Help you get over him since he left you!"

"Oh I know you cared about him too Bri…" Britanny's tone contained both anger and derisiveness. "Didn't I catch your scent on him several times despite telling you hands off? Yet you chased after my man despite knowing that he belonged to me. Now here you are trying to console me when it's really yourself you're trying to make feel better? You hypocrite."

Britanny snorted in her sister's face. "Even if you'd somehow gotten me out of the way you'd never have had a chance with my Stryyp."

"I wouldn't have lost him in the first place…", Brianna muttered softly before going wide-eyed, a hand flying to cover her mouth in shock at what she'd said. She knew things were about to get worse, there was no way Britanny hadn't heard what she said with her sensitive hearing. 'Oh crap…' "I didn't mean…"

Brianna's words had the affect she feared as Britanny's eyes narrowed dangerously, her sisters teeth showing due to her widening snarl. "Whhaaattt did you just say?!"

"That's not what I…"

"SHUT UP!", Britanny screamed in her sister's face forcing her hair to flutter backwards. "You… You unbelievable bitch… I can't believe you'd dare say something like that to me when you've never been able to keep one guy interested in you! Hell every guy you've ever gone after has always looked at me first and I bet you can't stand that! Gar, Stryyp, Genn…"

"And where are they now? Have you managed to keep even one of them?! HAVE YOU?! NO!" –Snort– "I certainly don't need relationship advice from someone like you!"

Like her angry sister Brianna had tears streaming down her face, she couldn't believe the things that Britanny was saying to her and knew she needed to get away before lashed back making things worse for them both.

"Look I didn't… I was angry… I'm sorry." –Sigh– "Look Cheetah, I'm going to come back when you're not so worked up so let me go ok?" Her attempt to walk away was prevented by Britanny pushing her back against the wall.

Britanny's eyes took on a nasty glint. "Don't you walk away from me! I'm not done with you. What right do you have to talk to me about my one failure at a relationship when you go through men like Gatorade!"

"I bet the real reason Genn has been staying away is to avoid being your sex-toy! Hell I'm surprised you haven't gone after Ryan like you did Stryyp or is it your just jealous of my having any happiness. Maybe it's because you haven't had time to do it yet?"

The slap Brianna delivered to her sister was an instinctual reaction; the response she got was a solid punch to her stomach driving her first into the wall then to the floor clutching her stomach in pain – the look of pure hatred on her sister's face hurt her more than the punch had.

When Britanny's anger filled eyes locked on those of her sister, she faltered. Stumbling away from her downed sister in disbelief at what she had just done Britanny stared at the growing purple bruise she could see on Brianna's exposed stomach.

The Brianna heard Britanny's whispered words of apology as Britanny ran crying from the room.

"Britanny…" Brianna managed to groan out before she curled into a ball to cry.

*End Flashback*

Her argument with her sister had been why she'd been in the kitchen when her mother came in to find her crying. As a result the two of them had a talk, one which went along the lines of what Brianna had been trying to tell her. This of course did little to help her mood as only after she'd lashed out and hurt one of those she loved in her depression had she come to realize that they were right.

After the conversation with her mother Britanny wandered the house, which is how she found herself in the underground complex where she unintentionally disturbed Gina's project. That in turn resulted in the situation she was in now, in the back of Ace's plane.

Brushing an errant hair away from his face Britanny smiled down at the young man with his head in her lap. "Bri's gonna just love you." –Pain filled chuckle– "And who could blame her? You're definitely her type, right down to your shyness. I'd be surprised if she didn't at least try to convince you to 'work out' with her even knowing I'm interested in you."

"I know we're not together or anything… and I can't help but wonder what your feelings are for me." She sighed out softly. "The thing is, I really want you to want me 'n it's scary how I almost seem to need you to need me… At the same time… I can't help but wonder… what if… you are only doing this for a way to cure yourself… or what if you end up liking one of my sisters instead? What do I do then? Do I fight for you or just let you go? Could I let you go?"

Mulling such worries over for several minutes, her reemerging confidence conflicting with her belief she wasn't worthy or having someone return her affections, she resisted the urge to give into her desire to cry. "I can't help but think of you as mine… if only a little bit. But I can't let that turn me into a possessive shrew who'd get angry at you every time someone else showed you some attention no matter how much I may want to."

"Besides, my sisters deserve the chance to be happy just as you do. So what if you end up preferring one of them over me if I kept you from them I'd be treating you like some possession and I can't, no, I won't do that! If I did I'd probably just end up driving you away like I did Stryyp."

Holding back a sob, she continued to seek solace in the act of running her fingers through Ranma's hair, ignoring the tears sliding slowly down her cheeks.

"It still hurts… just not as much… not since I struck Brianna… which makes me feel even worse about doing it as I should have used her to let go of my grief. Oh Brianna I hope you can forgive me…"

The young woman smiled down at Ranma as he cuddled against her leg in response to her forlorn sigh, her spirit buoyed by seeing him try to comfort her even in his sleep. Kissing the tips of her fingers she pressed them against his cheek.

"It's been over eight months and I've done nothing 'cept mope around bein' a general pain in the ass to everyone and it's about damn time I got myself out of this funk."

Hearing Ranma again talk in his sleep, this time about kicking a panda's ass for stealing his food, she chuckled. "Talk about weird dreams... you make me want to know what kind of life you've led to be able to just accept a lot of what has happened to so easily. If I hadn't of lived the life I've had I doubt I'd be as accepting. In fact, you remind me a bit of myself months ago; exuberant, willing to help a person who was in need of it."

"I know our meeting each other started oddly, but good things have already come from it for even if we don't end up together I have a good feeling you'll at least be a great friend" Britanny directed a lusty smile towards Ranma. "Maybe one with benefits."

"For now I'll take what you're willing to give me and try my best to not be jealous or greedy. If something comes from it, great, if not…" Britanny pouted slightly as she finished off the last of her can of warm soda. 'No, think positive Cheetah. After all, he must feel something for you if he left his home for you right?'

Setting the soda down she reached over to scratch Ranma under the chin eliciting a deeply rumbling sound from the slumbering werecat. 'Oh I love it when he purrs.'

Closing her eyes, she enjoyed the sound as well as the vibration it created through the bench – the combination of both slowly lulling her into sleep. Her last thoughts before drifting off were how her life seemed to be back on the upswing.

If she'd been conscious twenty minutes longer, she would've witnessed a soft blue glow slowly filling the cabin radiating from Ranma's sleeping form as it slowly spread from his body to envelope both her a large portion of the cabin.

Had she resisted Morpheus's call for but another few minutes she might have witnessed the two forms slowly solidified within the aura surrounding them, taking the forms of a fiery red-orange phoenix and midnight black a panther.

After briefly glaring at each other the two flowed towards the sleeping pair, the regal bird spreading its wings enveloping the two like a blanket, while the ferine feline curled up at Britanny's feet its glittering blue eyes staring out into the cabin seemingly watching for possible threats.

A few minutes later the totemic apparitions ceased their vigil, returning to within Ranma.

Upon their dissipation the aura filling the cabin coalesced into the form of a serpentine like six-eyed serpentine dragon. which stared down at the two for exactly twenty seconds before diving back into the sleeping Ranma causing his body to shake once from the apparent force of its action.

Only after the last bit of the ethereal being vanished, several objects appeared out of nowhere to fall on the floor before the bench, one of which slid across the floor to slide under a bench on the opposite side of the cabin trailed by a black mist that seeped from both of the sleepers before vanishing leaving both sleepers feeling as if unknown weights had been lifted off their shoulders.

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Additional Thanks

(In alphabetical order)

3 Headed Demon Dog — For pointing out a few canon issues I made in the story. While I may not always follow canon, it's still nice to know I sometimes do.

Borgrabbit — For beta-reading this chapter and for all the helpful suggestions.

Dumbledork — For pointing out a few errors (cough, several) I'd made in the story, and for being supportive with his criticisms and reviews!

Genhoss — For giving me a lot of advice.

Rei Mumei — For volunteering to be a beta-reader for this story.

Veiled Malice — For advice on being a writer.

Lastly — Thanks to all those who posted a review. If you haven't, please take the time to do so now.

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(Thanks)

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– Revised May 11th, 2010 –

– Revised May 14th, 2012 – (Canada – Vancouver.)